Just got word this morning that the minivan’s a total loss. Apparently I smacked into that tree hard enough to bend the frame, though if you looked at everything but the driver-side door you’d think the van was in great shape. Ah well.
On the bright side, my coworker pointed out that with the economy in the pits and the end of the year approaching, its a great time to buy a new car. I don’t know if we’ll go that route but its good to know.
My brother just recently got hit by someone making a left turn into him and got his car totaled. After he got the settlement (which, thankfully, paid of his old car and gave him a very, very small amount to put down) he bought a new car (reasoning that it was easier to get a loan for a new car since this happened right around the time everything was hitting the fan). The same evening he picked up the new car, someone else hit his brand new car!
He finally got the new car back, repaired, a few days ago. Since he was also in an accident in the rental car, I think he’s being EXTRA careful now.
Good luck figuring out what to do!